Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 315 Ouyang Xiu's Determination
Inside the Imperial Examination Hall of the Ministry of Rites.

The mountain of exam papers occupied most of the space in the hall. Because of the large number of people and the relatively enclosed environment, a stale smell inevitably filled the air.

Dozens of examiners, including Hanlin Academician Wang Gui and Longtu Pavilion Academician Mei Zhi, were dressed in their official robes, some sitting around a table, others writing at their desks, all showing signs of fatigue from days of work.

Ouyang Xiu, who was in charge of the imperial examinations, sat in the main seat, somewhat bulky and wrapped in a thick mink coat, with the charcoal brazier far away. Almost all the seats were arranged this way to prevent the examination papers from being accidentally ignited.

He was holding a scroll of poems in his hand, and as he looked at it, his brows furrowed tightly.

Ouyang Xiu immediately picked up a vermilion brush and, without hesitation, drew a striking mark on the scroll, then wrote two powerful characters in bold strokes.

"Category C!"

"Lord Ouyang".

Hanlin Academician Wang Gui walked over, rubbed his stiff fingers, and looked at the pile of rejected papers in front of Ouyang Xiu with a worried tone.

"Such 'Imperial Academy style' writing is difficult and strange, with fragmented punctuation. It treats the classics and meanings of sages as rare commodities, and shows off its skills with obscure allusions and strange words. It is certainly not the proper way of writing. However, is it too harsh to reject it all at once? I'm afraid it will cause a lot of controversy."

Wang Gui is from Chengdu, Sichuan. He is not yet forty years old. As the second-place scholar in the imperial examination of the second year of the Qingli era, he had sought guidance from Ouyang Xiu on his writing before passing the examination. He was considered a student of Ouyang Xiu, so they had a close relationship.

This is why Ouyang Xiu brought Wang Gui into the team of examiners.

Although Wang Gui knew that Ouyang Xiu intended to change the situation where many of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations came from the Imperial Academy, and that there must be an official mandate behind it, he was not aware beforehand that Ouyang Xiu was planning something so big.

To be honest, if Wang Gui had known beforehand that Ouyang Xiu was going to reject all candidates who wrote in the "Imperial Academy style," he would never have gotten involved.

He only wanted to enhance his resume and didn't want to get involved in the mess.

Wang Gui's words actually reflected the views of the vast majority of the examiners. Therefore, these words were not his personal opinion, but rather a statement made on behalf of everyone after several days of private discussions, to discuss the matter with Ouyang Xiu.

Ouyang Xiu tossed the "Category C" exam paper aside and twitched his bulbous nose.

He was well aware, of course, that these examiners, whom he had tricked and deceived, were certainly unwilling to offend the Imperial Academy. In the past ten years or so, a large number of Imperial Academy students had entered the imperial court through the imperial examinations. At the same time, after replacing the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Academy itself held a prestigious position in the academic, educational, and intellectual circles of the Song Dynasty.

Whether the Imperial Academy is willing to admit it or not, its teachers and students who have already entered officialdom have indeed formed a huge interest group.

Ouyang Xiu's actions were clearly a direct confrontation with the Imperial Academy, even an attempt to destroy its very foundation. It was impossible for him not to face retaliation.

As the leader of the literary world, he also had considerable connections in the imperial court. Furthermore, since the matter was tacitly approved by the government, he was naturally not afraid of retaliation. The worst outcome would be demotion, which wasn't something he hadn't been demoted before.

But the examiners below were definitely afraid.

On this matter, Ouyang Xiu did not intend to pretend to be confused.

Moreover, he has noticed in the past few days that people are becoming increasingly uneasy, and he knows that it won't work if he doesn't step forward and give a clear answer.

"The ills of our writing style are deeply ingrained and difficult to reverse; only drastic measures can cure this chronic disease!" Ouyang Xiu raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the various gazes cast upon him in the hall, and spoke loudly.

“These essays,” he pointed to the pile of rejected papers, “seem profound, but are actually empty and devoid of substance, merely piling up flowery language, obscure and difficult to understand, completely losing the original purpose of literature to convey the Way. If this trend is allowed to prevail in the examinations, how many scholars will be misled? How many people’s hearts will be corrupted? If this continues, literature will degenerate into strange skills and frivolous tricks, and the scholarly atmosphere will inevitably become frivolous and absurd, bringing endless disasters to the country and to learning!”

Everyone was silent.

Is there any truth to what Ouyang Xiu said?
That makes sense, but many people are wondering, what were they doing before? Did the "Imperial Academy Style" only become popular this year? No way.

Therefore, many people are thinking that, to put it bluntly, the emperor felt that the Imperial Academy was becoming too powerful and its influence was growing. If the situation of "six or seven out of ten Imperial Academy graduates being Jinshi" continued, it would inevitably threaten the imperial power.

If the emperor hadn't wanted to do it this way, the position of chief examiner might not have gone to Ouyang Xiu.

Finally, an examiner from the Imperial Academy couldn't help but speak up. He had been assigned to examine the classical texts section, and he had been watching all the poems, essays, and policy proposals written in the "Imperial Academy style" being rejected these past few days. He was almost bursting with frustration.

“Scholar Ouyang, the students of the Imperial Academy have been using this style of writing for a long time. When Mr. Shi Jie advocated classical prose, he said that to correct a wrong, one must go to extremes. Later scholars have imitated its form, and there may be some deviations. However, there may be some people with real talent and learning among them. To abolish it all at once would be to lose the big picture for the sake of the small. Moreover, the Imperial Academy is an important place for the country to cultivate talents. Such a decision may chill the hearts of the students and damage the face of the court.”

"The way of selecting officials concerns the foundation of the nation; how can we cover up its wrongdoing with the word 'respect'?"

The task of dismissing the Imperial Academy style of calligraphy was the most important task entrusted to him by the Emperor, and Ouyang Xiu had no room for maneuver.

"Shi Jie advocated classical prose to correct the use of parallel prose, which is commendable in its intent. However, the remnants of his 'strange theories' have indeed led later scholars astray. Today, the abolition of the 'Imperial Academy style' is precisely to correct the wrongs and restore order. However, you all say that abolishing the 'Imperial Academy style' may lead to the loss of talent and the emergence of resentment and slander. But what then constitutes true talent and learning?"

Ouyang Xiu's voice was loud: "How could it be that one merely seeks out phrases and sentences, piles up strange words, creates fragmented meanings, and uses obscure language to express shallowness? Absolutely not!"

He stood up and took out a poem from the top of another stack of carefully selected excellent exam papers on the desk.

"True talent and learning should be demonstrated in this way!"

Ouyang Xiu then handed the poem to Wang Gui beside him: "Yu Yu, come and see! Do you think this poem deserves a 'top-class' rating?"

Wang Gui felt a chill run down his spine.

According to the grading rules of the provincial examinations of the Ministry of Rites in previous years, generally speaking, the highest grade that the graders could give to the parts other than the classics was "A-middle", while the highest grade for the classics was "A-low".

Even for the parts outside of the sutra, a grade of "Jia Xia" is actually a normal full score. A grade of "Jia Zhong" is given only if the examiner particularly appreciates the paper and believes that its level exceeds the normal full score.

As for the "top-ranked" score, only the chief examiner of the provincial examinations of the Ministry of Rites, who was in charge of the "examination of scholars" or "acting examiner of scholars," had the authority to give it.

Generally speaking, cautious examiners, fearing controversy afterward, will not exercise this power.

Once an examiner exercises this power, it means that this paper is used as the benchmark for grading, and the other examiners must use it as the standard for grading.

(End of this chapter)